


Dragonsong

by cinnappo



Category: Super Junior
Genre: M/M, genre: adventure, genre: fantasy, length: chaptered
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-10-05
Updated: 2013-07-17
Packaged: 2017-11-28 10:14:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/673271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinnappo/pseuds/cinnappo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A lone trader is rescued in the woods one day by the last thing he would expect. Now he's earned the favor of the most sought after creatures in the world, and he attracts all sorts of attention - good and bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Crosspost from my livejournal. Originally published 2011/10/05. Now betaed and edited.

This was a very bad idea, Jongwoon thinks as his feet pound against the forest floor. He knows it was probably not the best decision he ever made, taking the shortcut to his hometown on the coast through bandit territory. He is all too conscious of the weight of the medicine in the satchel tied to his trousers as he weaves through the trees, trying to shake off his pursuers. He can't afford to lose this. Not now. Not when he has someone counting on him.

Jongwoon yelps in surprise as he breaks through a clearing, only to see a bandit sneering gleefully at him. He manages to skid to a halt and stumble back in the direction he came from before the bandit can make a grab at him. He pants and heaves and his chest feels like it's on fire but he can't stop and so he keeps running. He hears rustlings in the leaves around him over the thrum of his own heartbeat and frantically tries to distinguish which direction it's coming from so that he _doesn't_ run that way. He feels an arrow fly past and it grazes his arm, but even the sting of it doesn't stop him from tearing through. 

He stumbles on a root and tumbles painfully to the ground. He knows he's rolled his ankle but he pushes himself off the ground anyway and tears off again, albeit considerably slower. He wants to run faster but the constant throb of pain shoots up his leg and makes it too weak to support his weight for long. He curses under his breath, knowing that unless he makes it to the main road soon he's done for. There's another break in the trees up ahead, and if he can just make it that far and find a place to hide...

Jongwoon pushes through the branches and his heart sinks. Two bandits block his path, one with a bow aimed straight at his chest. This must have been the one who fired the arrow earlier. Jongwoon grips his bleeding arm and turns back, but two more clear the trees and cover his exit, as well. He's surrounded, and he knows it.

"Well, well, well," drawls one of them. He twirls a dagger around between his fingers. "Look what we have here. A lone trader wandering around through the woods."

"I have nothing of value," Jongwoon states, hoping his voice sounds firmer than he feels. "I sold everything at the trader's fair. Let me pass."

"Oh, I don't think so," says another bandit. "Nothing of value? If you've sold everything, then you must at least have a pretty pence on you." The bandit eyes the satchel at Jongwoon's waist, and instinctively Jongwoon flinches to cover it. 

"That's a hefty wallet," states the third with a smirk. "How much do you think is in there, Min?"

The first one, Min, considers a moment. "I'd say at least a hundred quid."

"Or more!" pipes the second. "I'd bet anything that it's two hundred quid! You know how popular the trader's fairs are, Hyuk!"

"It's not money at all," the fourth one finally says, lowering his bow. "It's not bulky enough to be gold. And it's too small to be any tool or even food. I'd say it's medicine or magic powder."

The other three regard him for a minute before their smirks grow. "Henli, when'd you get so smart?" chuckles the second one, apparently called Hyuk, impressed. "And Hae, you're probably right. If Henli is right, the medicine the fool is carrying is probably worth more than five hundred quid in the black market!"

"Especially if it's from the old potions hag," adds Hae. "She's the best there is, everyone's itching to get their hands on her magic powder and healing draughts."

As the four bandits converse on their plans of what to do with Jongwoon's goods, the trader slowly tries to sidle his way out of the clearing unnoticed. The one called Henli is indeed right; he has a vial of the most expensive healing draught that the potion hag offered at the fair. He had saved up every penny for months for it too, and too much is riding on him successfully getting that vial to the harbor. Unfortunately, just as he slips beyond the trees, Min calls out "Hey, where'd he go?" and he's forced to take off running on his bad ankle again. 

Jongwoon considers his hand at attempting to throw them off with magic. He's not very adept at it, but normally he can manage a decent smokescreen or a simple healing spell if he's focused. The thing is, he's not focused, and he can't even stop long enough to fix his ankle to put distance between him and the bandits, and using magic is especially exhausting to one who isn't used to it. He hears the bandits catching up behind him and he prays that he can last, but he hears the telltale twang of the bow and feels it graze his bad leg. This Henli kid isn't a very good shot but it's enough to send him sprawling forward into the undergrowth. 

It happens in a blink of an eye -- one moment, he's sure that he's finished and that he'll have lost all hope, and the next, he hears a deafening roar and the startled screams that follow. His eyes widen as a great black dragon slithers through the trees, about 20 meters in length and reminiscent of the dragons he's used to hearing about as a child, the dragons who resided with the gods. It takes a stance between Jongwoon and the bandits, it's head aimed and snarling in their direction, and if Jongwoon didn't know any better, he would say that the dragon was... _defending_ him. 

The archer bandit Henli recovers from the shock first and quickly lets an arrow fly. It scratches the dragon in the back but it hardly seems scathed. Instead, it roars again and bares its fangs, and this time the bandits take no chances and scram. Jongwoon is too startled and admittedly a little frightened to even move as the dragon turns to him. Jongwoon's breath hitches, but the dragon merely lowers its head, showing that it means him no harm. Jongwoon has never seen a dragon in person before, and his first impression as he meets its gaze is how stunning its eyes are -- a bright, clear amethyst, much like the ones he's use to peddling at the trader's fair when he happens to barter with the miners. His second impression is, oh god, it's bleeding and it's all his fault and...

The dragon snorts, and gestures its head to the sky. Jongwoon looks up, and belatedly realizes that it's starting to get dark. When he looks back down, the dragon is gone, before he can even say a word in thanks. With a sigh, he quickly sets about mending his ankle just enough so he can run, and his arm enough to stop bleeding. He doesn't care about scarring at the moment -- he has to get out of this forest by nightfall, and then it's only a two hour trek at a walking pace to the harbor. If he runs he can make it sooner.

With a renewed haste, Jongwoon makes it to the harbor just as the sun is at the point where the sea meets the sky. The sea breeze rustles his tunic as he hurries through the crowds, pushing through the throngs of people trying to get home. It's a small, one-room hut on the far outskirts of the city, near the shore. The medicine is nearly burning a hole in his pocket as he anxiously makes his way up the cobblestone and he breaks into another run as it comes into sight. 

"Jongjin, I'm home!" he calls as he throws the door open with a flourish, but stops dead in the doorway when he sees the room is empty. Not just empty -- _abandoned_. The beds on the opposite side of the hearth are made, untouched, and the fireplace has been cleaned out, and the floor is covered in a fine layer of dust. "No..." he breathes.

"Jongwoon, you've returned!" Jongwoon turns to see the kind matronly woman who lives in the cottage next to theirs hobble over. "It's so good to see you, it's been such a long time."

"Madam, where's Jongjin? Where's my brother?" Jongwoon wastes no time in asking, a touch of hysteria in his voice. 

The woman gives him a sad smile and pats him comfortingly on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, dear. The illness was eating away at him for so long. He just couldn't hold on anymore."

Jongwoon clenches his hands so tightly to keep from crying outright that he's sure his palms will bleed. "When?" he manages to rasp. 

"Early last week, I'm afraid. The fishermen gave him a proper ceremony and sent word to the trader's fair in town, but I guess the messenger must have missed you. They buried him next to your parents." Jongwoon says nothing, digesting the news and keeping himself from breaking down then and there. The woman notices his silence and takes one of his hands in both of hers. "If you need anything, my husband and I are just next door. We're happy to help any way we can."

"Thank you," Jongwoon says shakily, and the woman nods and leaves him to his thoughts. Lighting a candle, Jongwoon enters the house and shuts the door behind him. He sits on the edge of Jongjin's bed, sets the candlestick on the bedside table and takes the vial from his satchel. He rolls it around in his hand, the clear contents of the crystal vial sloshing around slightly inside. All of a sudden with a furious shout he throws it against the opposite wall, shattering it, and lets himself sob into his hand. 

The candle burns out before he cries himself to sleep.

***

The matronly neighbor watches the house but sees no one go in or out for three days. She knows Jongwoon is in there, because she drops off bread on the doorstep every day and every evening when she goes to retrieve the basket it is empty. Finally, at daybreak of the fourth day since Jongwoon returned, she catches the young trader as he's leaving. He's shouldered a knapsack and in his hands, a scroll of parchment.

"Here," he says, offering it to her. 

"What's this, dear?" she questions, taking the parchment. 

"The deed to this house. You said you would help if you could? Do me a favor and sell it, and buy your family something nice with the gold." The woman looks at his as though he is certainly joking, but Jongwoon's face is the epitome of seriousness.

"I can't just take this...! Besides, where will you go?" She tries to push the deed back into his hands but he shakes his head.

"My family has all died, I don't have a wife or children, and more often than not I'm in the city at the trader's fair. There's nothing left for me here. So please..." 

Jongwoon refuses to meet her eye, and she starts to realize this must be hard for him, leaving the place where he lost everything that mattered to him. "All right, then. Oh, here, take this," she holds out the basket of bread. "You're going to need something to eat for the journey back, aren't you?" 

To this, Jongwoon concedes, taking the basket with a grateful smile. "Thank you ma'am, for everything." He bows deeply and turns to leave without another word. The woman suspects he would choke up if he said anything else.

"Take care, dear," she calls after him, waving her little cane. "It won't be the same without you two rascals," she adds quietly, noticing that Jongwoon is going down the path toward the graveyard and not the city.

***

"You know, Jongwoon, if all you ever sell are rocks, you'll never find yourself a decent wife."

Jongwoon just rolls his eyes as he downs another gulp of ale at one of the lesser known taverns, enjoying an evening with his good friend, the owner. "You know I'll never marry, Donghee. My parents never arranged a bride before they died. Besides, the goods from the quarry sell for a lot. I don't care that no women buy from me. And I do trade other things on occasion."

The broader man swivels in his chair and stares incredulously. "Are you kidding me? You have the chance to _choose_ your own bride and you're not going to because of the old folk tradition?"

"It's not that simple," Jongwoon explains for what feels like the millionth time. "A woman's parents won't willingly marry their daughter off to a man who has no family. There's no one to assure that there's no shame that he's hiding or some debt that he owes or some crime he's committed. If I were to even try to be a suitor, the only word I have to give for my name is my own, and that's not enough assurance."

Donghee is silent, sulking as he nurses his own pint. "Some men have all the luck," he says after a while. "You'll never have to marry, and I'm stuck with Nari the Nag. You're rolling in the gold with the miners, and I run a measly little tavern in the seedy part of town. How'd you even get into trading with the miners, anyway?"

Jongwoon shrugs. "I don't remember. I just came into contact with a man named Jungsu, the head miner. He's a pretty amicable guy, but his laugh is the strangest thing I've ever heard." He and Donghee stop to chortle and sip at their ale. "I trade him medicine and tools for his miners, and I get precious gems in the rough, and I trade those to smithies for a good price. Lately it's been mostly amethyst though, which isn't as popular as rubies or emeralds." 

The talk of amethyst suddenly reminds Jongwoon of the dragon he encountered, and he wonders how he'd forgotten about it so easily. He'd been so focused on saving Jongjin, and then the events that followed, he reckons, pushed the strange event to the back of his mind. Thinking on it now, however, he wonders where it had come from, where it had disappeared to, and _why_ , out of all the things it could have done, it had protected him. A hand waving in front of his face brings him out of his reverie. "Jongwoon, you alright? You went blank for a bit and..." 

Considering whether or not it would be a good idea to tell Donghee about the dragon, Jongwoon tests the waters. "Say, Donghee... would you believe me if I told you I ran into a dragon?"

Donghee nearly spews ale out of his nose, and he does end up choking a little on it. "Wh-what?" he coughs, catching his breath. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I'm not," says Jongwoon, his eyebrows furrowing just a little bit at the recollection. "It was the day I found out my brother had died. I was ambushed by a bunch of bandits and it showed up out of nowhere and scared them off. But it's curious... it didn't do anything to me. It was like it was defending me."

Donghee gapes, and if he was incredulous before, he was beyond belief now. "You're not spinning a tall tale on me now, are you?"

Jongwoon snorts. "Would I lie to you about something like this?"

Donghee shakes his head. "No, I guess not, but... if you're not lying, then you really _are_ extremely lucky. Dragons rarely show themselves to humans anymore, let alone _protect_ one."

"You seem to know an awful lot about them for someone who's never seen one," Jongwoon state skeptically. Donghee leans in over the table.

"I know what I know from the tales of the tavern, my friend," he explains. "But I'm serious, they say that if a human sees a dragon nowadays, he's favored by the gods. You know, the two used to live peacefully, until humans realized how useful dragon scales were -- they can be used as shields or ground to be used in magic powders or even in medicine because of the healing properties. Dragons have really long lifespans -- some even say they're immortal -- so losing scales isn't life threatening, but they are also very proud creatures and would not willingly give away something that precious, and they would be shamed among their own kind even if they did. So the only way to safely get the scales was to slay them, and so people started becoming dragon hunters. Eventually the dragons caught on to their scheme and went on a massacre, slaughtering all known hunters. After they were satisfied, they went into hiding and humans have rarely seen them since." Donghee sits back and laces his fingers behind his head. "No wife, lots of gold, and a dragon sighting... there must be something good in store for you, Kim Jongwoon. I should spend more time with you, and maybe some of your good luck will rub off on me!" 

Jongwoon smiles slightly and raises his glass. "Maybe," he chuckles before downing the rest of his glass. _Good things in store, huh?_ he thinks. _After all that I've lost, I certainly deserve them._

The image of the dragon with amethyst eyes haunts him for the rest of the day.

***

"No. Absolutely not."

Jungsu huffs and taps his foot. "Look Jongwoon, I know you have some bad history in the harbor but I really need you to pick up the shipment of potions that came in. It's nearly summer and my men are starting to get heat poisoning down in the mines. If my men are sick, you don't get your stones, which means you don't get your money."

Jongwoon frowns and crosses his arms resolutely. "I said no, and I mean it. I don't care about the money, I'm not going back to the harbor town." The two men are arguing in the back room of Donghee's tavern, where most of their business is conducted. Jongwoon is leaning against the wall near the hearth, and Jungsu is seated at the table. The fire is the only light in the room, the orange light cast about making the tense looks on both of their faces more intimidating as it flickers.

"Jongwoon..." Jungsu sighs, his voice getting soft. "It's been over a year since your brother passed away. I understand that it's difficult but you're the only trader I trust with this kind of shipment. I wouldn't ask something so personal if I could entrust it to anyone else. Besides, don't you think you should... you know, visit them? Go home and rest for a bit if you have to."

"There is no home for me to go to," spits Jongwoon bitterly. "And there is nothing for me to visit. All that's there are stones and corpses."

"Please," Jungsu nearly begs, looking a bit desperate. "You're the only one I can trust."

Jongwoon sets his mouth into a tight line. "Fine," he says after a while. "Just this once. Next time, find someone else you can trust because I won't make the trip twice."

The older man breathes a relieved sigh and relaxes his shoulders. "I could hug you right now," he admits.

"Please don't."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lone trader is rescued in the woods one day by the last thing he would expect. Now he's earned the favor of the most sought after creatures in the world, and he attracts all sorts of attention - good and bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crossposted from my livejournal. Originally published 2012/01/18. Now betaed and edited.

The harbor is just as bustling as ever, and very little has changed from the way that Jongwoon recalls it. The stalls are still just as bustling as ever, people peddling fish and wares and such, children still play knights and crooks with sticks for swords in the plaza while their mothers work or haggle. He even recognizes some of the folks behind the merchandise, though he rather hopes they don't return the favor, pulling the hood of his cloak down a little further over his face. He very much just wants to get in and out of town as quickly as possible.

It had taken him a week to arrive at the coast on foot, Jongwoon taking his time in dread of actually getting into town (and making sure to stick to the main road this time around). Now that he's here, though, the memories come back tenfold and it amazes him just how quickly he falls back into the old grind, routes and alleys memorized like the back of his hand. 

The alchemist, for example, is a stone's throw away from the docks where the ships come in, the potions needing to be quickly unloaded from the cargo holds and stored in the cool cellars of the apothecary before they spoiled. There was a reason potions always comes in right at the end of spring -- the weather is still cool enough to transport them across long distances, but if they are sold too early they would go bad long before the heat of the summer subsides. 

Unfortunately for Jongwoon, the alchemist he grew up with passed away in the year that he was gone, and the new guy, a fellow named Changmin from the mainland, drives a hard bargain. Jongwoon haggles with him, not wanting to drive up his prices with his already established clientele (namely Jungsu, who Jongwoon curses vehemently under his breath). But after an hour and a half of negotiation, Jongwoon is forced to settle on a price that leaves a dent in his wallet, but Changmin is at least wise enough to give him a horse to get back to the city with.

"If you don't get those potions properly chilled again within three or four days they're going to spoil," Changmin warns as he leans in the doorway of his shop, watching Jongwoon load up the saddle-pack. Each of the potion jars were carefully wrapped in cloth to prevent them from breaking, but still, Jongwoon knows he's going to have to set the horse at an easy trot. If she breaks out in full gallop the packs will probably slap against her haunches and cause the glass to break.

"I'm not a novice," Jongwoon grits exasperatedly. "I've dealt in potions trading before."

"As I'm well aware," Changmin chuckles, and it kind of grates on Jongwoon's nerves. "I haven't seen your face around these parts before but don't think I don't know who you are, Kim Jongwoon," Changmin says dryly, and Jongwoon's hands still on the leather ties, eyebrows quirking up at the man. "One of the most successful traders in the business doesn't exactly go without a bit of a following to his name," the alchemist explains with a small smile. 

"Yes, well," Jongwoon retorts, a bit flustered. "I still don't appreciate you treating me like a rookie." 

"'T'was merely jest, good Trader," Changmin says with a wave, turning to head back into his shop. "Oh, and you might want to stop in at the florist. She heard you were coming into town, and prepared something for you."

Before Jongwoon can open his mouth to question what on earth a florist would have for a trader, Changmin disappears into his dark shop and Jongwoon can only shake his head. The flower shop is still the little run-down building on the edge of the marketplace, but the vibrant colors of flowers in every variety are easy to spot. The florist is a pink-cheeked young girl, maybe a few years younger than him, and when he ducks under the curtain in the doorway and pulls his hood down, she grins.

"Jongwoon! It's good to see you again!" she exclaims. Jongwoon has to resist the urge to blunt ask _who are you?_ , but the girl understands his silence. "You don't remember me? I'm Jinyoung! I lived next door to you! I used to play with Jongjin a lot." 

The name of Jongwoon's brother makes him cringe and the girl's expression softens. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit a sore spot. I know you must miss him a lot." Jongwoon doesn't reply (he's not sure what exactly to say to that), and after a minute of tense silence Jinyoung sighs. "Right. Um, anyway, I heard you were stopping into town for the potions shipment and asked Changmin to send you over. I figured since you haven't been here in over a year you'd want to visit your family." She steps from behind the counter and scans the walls, as though looking for something she misplaced.

"My family is gone," Jongwoon states quietly, finally finding his voice. "There's no one to visit."

"Yes, but don't you want to at least visit their graves?" Jinyoung gasps, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. 

"Why should I? Nothing is there but stone and corpses," Jongwoon says, repeating the words he had spoken to Jungsu what seemed so long ago. Jinyoung wrinkles her nose at the graphic image.

"How dare you say that!" she hisses, continuing her search for... whatever it is. Jongwoon is taken aback by her suddenly harsh tone. "Graves are the final resting place of the ones we love most! Their spirits may have moved on but they are forever linked to the place where they were laid to rest! You weren't seriously going to just come home and not go and at least send your offerings to them in heaven were you? Show some respect for the dead!"

Jongwoon opens his mouth to retort, but can't find words, so he closes it again. The girl's words really rendered him speechless -- Jongwoon had honestly never thought of it that way. Perhaps he was jaded from being completely alone. But Jinyoung finally finds what she's looking for -- a bundle of white carnations. "Here," she says, voice gentle again and a soft smile on her face as she presses the flowers into Jongwoon's arms. "Take these, and go visit them." 

Jongwoon wants to protest but before he can get a word in edgewise, Jinyoung's face gets stern once more. "And if I find out you didn't and wasted my flowers you'll be joining them, Kim Jongwoon." A blinding smile then graces her face and Jongwoon doesn't know which is more frightening -- her threat, or the fact that she jumped so quickly from emotions. So instead of incurring the wrath of a woman scorned he merely nods, agreeing to stop at the cemetery on the way out of town that night. 

Jinyoung waves him out of her shop, watching him as he mounts his horse and rides off, smiling to herself. "Jongjin, forgive me for not taking better care of your brother," she murmurs as she sees Jongwoon disappear around the bend. "This is the best that I can do for him."

***

Jongwoon has to admit, it is rather relieving, paying a visit to the cemetery. He hadn't stepped foot in it since the day he left the harbor town, when he thought he was leaving for good. But it feels like a burden is lifted off of his shoulders, to brush away the dirt and pull up the weeds around the three grave markers. The bundle of flowers Jinyoung had given him split evenly so he can place three flowers on each marker, the petals blending nicely with the granite of the stones.

"I feel really stupid, talking to rocks," Jongwoon whispers, fingers tracing the names in the stone lightly, more lovingly than he is willing to admit. "But I miss you. I wish you were all here. Maybe life wouldn't be so damn miserable." The cemetery is quiet, the sun setting over the hill on the western side and Jongwoon sits in silence.

"I saw a dragon," he tells the stone with Jongjin's name on it. "About a year ago. You would be jealous, since you were the one who always believed in that kind of stuff. It was pretty amazing," he says, the memory of the great beast still as vivid as the day he saw it, the amethyst eyes still crystal clear in his mind. "It even protected me from bandits. Fat lot of good it did me, I still didn't get there in time to save you." Jongwoon isn't crying, no. His shoulders tremble, and his eyes water, but no. He refuses to cry. Not this time.

He stands up so abruptly that he nearly trips over his own feet. His horse scuttles at her tether near the entrance, where Jongwoon tied her so not to trample the other graves. Normally Jongwoon wouldn't travel at night but he feels the overwhelming need to get as far away from there as possible. The guilt is so tangible when he looks at the grave of his brother, the physical reminder of his failure that his family had to pay for, that he feels like he might suffocate. 

If only he would be a better son, maybe his parents wouldn't have died protecting him when invaders burned their village down. If only he were a better brother, maybe Jongjin wouldn't have gotten sick. 

He pushes the horse to go as fast as she can without galloping. The farther away from there, there better. Jongwoon thinks that Jungsu had damn well better find someone else to make this trip next year because that is the last time.

Still, that little voice in the back of his head tells him that's a cop-out, and that he's just running away.

 _Maybe I am running away_ , Jongwoon thinks, viciously swiping the tears away with the back of his palm. _So what._

***

Jongwoon rides for a day and a half before he realizes he's pushed his poor horse to the brink of exhaustion. He was so absorbed in his thoughts and his guilt that they haven't stopped for food or water, and the horse is steadily slowing down her pace. He leans forward in the saddle and strokes her muzzle. "I'm sorry, girl. Let's find you a river to drink from and I'll get you out some oats, how's that sound?" The horse snorts as though she's agreeing, and Jongwoon slows her to a stop to listen for water.

He knows there's a river not too far from the road, east or west of the path depending on which direction you were headed. The problem is, the region isn't exactly known for its sloping banks, the mountainous path surrounded by deep embankments and sharp ravines. It's a matter of finding a place where the riverbed was soft enough to reach. 

Jongwoon sighs heavily, not exactly sure where he is to be able to determine the best place to wander off the road. He decides that finding the river is a good place to start. If the bank is too dangerous to stop, he figures, they can always follow it upstream to softer banks. And much to his relief, it doesn't take long to actually find the river.

Unfortunately, as he figured, the river runs through weathered rock, a ravine about 20 meters deep and sheer cliff faces on either side. He heaves a heavy sigh. "Think you can make it until we get to a safer spot?" The horse neighs in compliance (though not without a bit of a whine, which makes Jongwoon feel even worse), and they begin their northward march. 

Jongwoon follows the river, going against the current, for about an hour. However, instead of the banks easing down, as Jongwoon first figured, the cliffs are only climbing higher, and now he figures there must be at least 50 meters between the top edge of the cliff and the water's surface. He's forced to stop and dismount, allowing his horse to drink what's left in his canteen. She wouldn't make it otherwise, and he knows it. He's not about to be cruel to the poor thing, not when she's carried him all this way.

He frowns at the river as though that might change something, vaguely hearing the leaves rustle behind him. His subconscious tells him that they aren't alone, but the forefront of his mind tells him it's only the wind. Jongwoon's holding on to the reins and thinking, contemplating which option sounded more appealing to him -- continue going upstream and hope it levels out, or backtrack down the river where the chances of finding accessible water are much higher.

Suddenly his horse rears her front legs with a cry, not only startling the daylights out of Jongwoon but hitting him square in the chest and knocking him to the ground. Stunned and disoriented, Jongwoon lies there, winded, as his horse bristles. "Whoa, girl!" he breathes, trying to catch his breath enough to calm her down. Clearly something has spooked her, but he isn't sure what. "Hey, hey, calm down! What's the matter?" 

The horse prances around him, and it makes him nervous how close she is. The leaves rustle loudly again, and the horse rears once more, nearly directly over top of Jongwoon. In a split-second reaction he rolls out of the way just in time as her hooves come back down right where his head had been mere seconds ago. But he didn't think it through because instead of rolling inward, toward more land, he rolls toward the cliffs and with a strangled yell he slips over the edge, just barely managing to hold on with one hand. 

_Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down,_ Jongwoon's mind chants, trying to swing his other arm up to get purchase on the rock. It doesn't even register that his horse flees in a panic, his instinct to survive blocking everything else out. His money satchel slips from where it was tied at his belt and despite his mind screaming at him not too, Jongwoon looks down and watches it fall. 

His fingers slip and he plummets.

***

"Hey."

Jongwoon hears but doesn't comprehend. There's a hand on his shoulder, shaking him a little.

"Hey, wake up if you're alive."

Jongwoon groans and wants to slap the hand away, but his arm is extraordinarily heavy,

"Almost there," the voice urges, and it's a struggle, but Jongwoon manages to scrunch his eyes to get them working, peeling them open bit by bit. 

A form above him swims into focus, and for a moment he swears he can see a flash of amethyst. He blinks heavily, and the face becomes clearer -- a young man's face, to be more specific. His eyes are deep brown and his hair is jet black, cropped short in the back but long bangs draping his face. And then the pain hits Jongwoon like a boulder and he groans again.

"There you are. Welcome back to the world of the living," the young man says, voice soft and clearly relieved that Jongwoon isn't dead. Jongwoon wants to ask _what happened?_ but can't seem to get anything processing in his brain except how much he hurts all over. The young man speaks, as though he read Jongwoon's mind. "I fished you out of the river. I don't know how far downstream you floated but you were completely out. It's a good thing you were face up or you'd have drowned."

Jongwoon lifts his head slightly to take in his surrounding, despite the constant throb. It's a small camp, he realizes, the sound of rushing water somewhere off to his left. It's dark out, and the only illumination is from the fire burning. The young man himself is dressed in a tunic similar to his, only it looks like it's woven from cotton instead of wool, a shade matching the shade of sand they're laying on.

Wait, sand?

"Wh... who are you, and where are we?" Jongwoon manages to rasp, voice gravelly from disuse. The young man's eyes glitter, and he smiles brightly.

"I'm Ryeowook," he says. "And we're in the Charred Valley." 

Jongwoon passes back out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crossposted from my livejournal. Originally published 2012/06/18. Now betaed and edited. Additional notes at the end.

“So you mean to tell me that you actually _live_ here?” Jongwoon asks incredulously. Ryeowook tilts his head to the side in confusion, nodding while is head is still a bit sideways.

“Why wouldn’t I live here?” Ryeowook asks, blinking. Jongwoon stares incredulously.

“No one who even passes through here makes it out alive,” he explains slowly. Ryeowook furls his eyebrows.

“If that were true, I wouldn’t be here, now would I?” Ryeowook scoffs. “And besides the fact that I’ve seen plenty of travelers through these parts, and I’ve lived here my whole life. It’s how I know that outsiders call this place the Charred Valley.”

Jongwoon’s eyebrows shoot into his hairline. “I don’t know a single soul who’s ventured here and lived to tell the tale. What happened to these travelers you’ve seen?”

“I don’t know,” Ryeowook says simply. “I never saw them again.” Jongwoon resists the urge to smack his forehead, instead deciding to rub his temples to assuage the returning headache.

“They don’t call it the Charred Valley just because it’s _hot_ , you idiot,” Jongwoon mutters. Ryeowook balks at the insult but Jongwoon goes on. “Just look around you! It’s nothing but sand and rock. The only sign of life is the river and even that I’m surprised is here.” 

Jongwoon’s mind is reeling with the gravity of the situation he’s in, all but ignoring Ryeowook as he tries to come up with a solution, trying and figure out how in the name of Heaven he’s going to get back to the city. He’s so frazzled that he almost misses the soft sigh that Ryeowook gives, the young man standing and moving toward the water. “A simple ‘thank you’ would have sufficed,” Ryeowook mutters, sounding more hurt than angry. 

Jongwoon frowns and cards a hand through his hair in frustration. Ever since he’d woken up the second time things have only gotten worse. He has no idea where he is, and even if Ryeowook is here they're still probably going to die. Still, he feels guilty for lashing out at his savior.

“Look, I’m sorry,” Jongwoon apologizes with a heavy sigh. “I appreciate the fact that you saved me even though I’ve been nothing but a hassle. But the fact of the matter is your effort will go to waste if I die before I make it back.” Ryeowook remains quiet, opting to splash his face with water and a tense silence hangs between them before Jongwoon sighs again. “I’m just... I’m just lost, okay?”

“If you had asked nicely,” Ryeowook replies quietly, “I would have told you that I can show you the way.” Jongwoon’s head snaps up so fast that his neck cracks. Ryeowook just shakes his head a bit, wry smile on his face. “I may look naive but I’m not stupid. Did you not hear me say I’ve lived here my whole life? I’m well aware of how desolate it is, but you don’t live as long as I have without learning the law of the land.”

“You say that as if you’ve lived a long time,” Jongwoon drawls disbelievingly, not wanting to let himself grasp the shred of hope that Ryeowook is offering him. He knows he sounds like an ungrateful child but he’s been let down -- and let himself down -- too many times. No, if he’s going to die, he’d much rather accept it now than be forced to later. Ryeowook huffs in frustration.

“Do you want my help or not?” 

Jongwoon rubs his temples as he considers his options. It’s either certain death on his own, or _almost_ certain death at the mercy of this complete stranger who, for some reason, felt compelled to save him from the river. Even if that may have been a more merciful fate.

In the end, he sighs and does something he hasn’t done in a long time. He asks for help. 

“Please.”

***

Jongwoon wonders if he made the right choice when Ryeowook starts leading him away from the safety of the river. “The river isn’t a direct enough path,” Ryeowook explains. “If you follow it for too long you’ll starve before you get to where you’re going. Not to mention there are predators who stalk the river for prey who aren’t paying attention.”

Jongwoon shudders, but tries to act like he’s not bothered. “Gee, our choices sound _so_ appealing. Starve to death, or be someone else’s meal. Not to mention that no river means no water so we can slowly shrivel up and die, that sounds absolutely _enthralling_.”

Ryeowook just shakes his head and keeps going, leading the way through the sands of the Charred Valley. For a while, Jongwoon observes his surroundings -- off on the horizon the land juts up into the sky with jagged rock, marking the perimeter of the Valley. Dread settles in his stomach when he realizes that they’re in the basin of the Valley, the deepest point and what many call the Gate to Hell. But Ryeowook seems confident that he knows his way out, and more importantly, how to survive the journey. Which brings his attention to the strange little man.

When Jongwoon first woke from unconsciousness the man was almost timid around Jongwoon, like he’d never had social interaction before. Jongwoon almost wonders if that is actually the case, seeing as Ryeowook claims he _lives_ in the Valley. But since they’ve started off from that camp where Ryeowook fished Jongwoon from the river the tiny man seems to have opened up, animatedly countering Jongwoon’s jaded pessimism with a cheerful wit. 

As the sun rises to the highest point in the sky, Jongwoon starts to feel the burn of dehydration. The sweat trickles between his shoulder blades in rivulets and his wool tunic sticks uncomfortably, insulating his skin and making the heat a hundred times worse. “Way to go, genius,” Jongwoon mutters. “You lead us away from the river but you forgot to bring water. We’re going to have to go back.”

Ryeowook, to his credit, doesn’t even roll his eyes. Instead, he chuckles amusedly, eyes twinkling with mirth as he turns to Jongwoon. “And here I thought your people were adept in magic,” he says.

“Even magic can’t conjure water,” Jongwoon retorts dryly, not in the mood for Ryeowook’s snark. “It’s common knowledge that you can’t create any of the five elements from nothing. It goes against the laws of nature.”

“Of course not,” Ryeowook agrees. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t _summon_ water.” Jongwoon raises a skeptical eyebrow and Ryeowook grins mischievously. “Watch.” He cups his hands a few inches from Jongwoon’s face and murmurs something in a language Jongwoon has never heard before, and to his amazement, the empty palms quickly fill with water. Ryeowook offers it to Jongwoon, who drinks gratefully and wiping his chin on his sleeve before turning back to Ryeowook, astonished.

“How did you do that?” he asks incredulously, watching as Ryeowook takes a drink for himself. Ryeowook laughs at the dumbfounded look on Jongwoon’s face, clearly reveling in the fact that the trader is, for once, genuinely impressed. 

“There’s moisture in the air,” Ryeowook says simply. “All you have to do is gather enough of it to drink. I told you I’ve been living here all my life, didn’t I? If I didn’t know little tricks like that I’d have died a long time ago.” He summons a few more handfuls of water for each of them. 

“Thanks for that,” Jongwoon mutters begrudgingly, not wanting to admit that he’s really grateful for the help. Ryeowook beams and Jongwoon waves his arm. “We should get going again. I don’t know how far we have to go yet and I want to cover as much ground as we can while we have light.” He starts off walking in the direction Ryeowook was leading them before without waiting for Ryeowook to reply, and the smaller man merely shakes his head and follows.

***

The next few hours of their journey is in relative silence; Ryeowook takes the lead again when Jongwoon starts veering off in the wrong direction, clearly having no idea where he’s going. Ryeowook glances back subtly at the other man occasionally, frowning slightly as Jongwoon tugs on his tunic more and more. He offers to stop for water more frequently but Jongwoon denies, insistent that they just get as far as they can. When the telltale flush of heatstroke starts to burn on Jongwoon’s face, though, Ryeowook forces him to sit down on a rock.

“Hold out your hands,” Ryeowook says with a surprising sternness. Jongwoon blinks, and Ryeowook grabs the other man’s hands and cups them for him. “You won’t let me help you, so at least let me help you help yourself.” Jongwoon is hesitant, but finally nods slightly. “Good. Now imagine that you’re pulling the water in from the air around you. Focus on your hands, and then repeat after me: _ugiu lakuo_.”

“ _Ugiu lakuo_ ,” Jongwoon repeats, and frowns when nothing happens. He says it twice more, succeeding in getting barely a drop of water in his hands. Frustrated, he drops his hands to his sides. “There’s a reason I didn’t study to be a devout,” he groans. “And this is it. I suck at magic. What language is this spell even in, anyway?”

“My language,” Ryeowook replies succinctly, and when Jongwoon opens his mouth to question him further Ryeowook merely waves it off with a wave of his hand. “Come on, try it again.” Patiently, he goads Jongwoon’s hands back up and convinces him to keep trying until he’s succeeds in summoning enough water to get a decent drink on his own. 

Jongwoon heaves a sigh when he finally makes the spell work several times in succession, wiping his hands on the front of his trousers. He looks as though he means to say something, but a loud gurgle interrupts him and his ears go a bright red. “I don’t suppose you have a spell in your arsenal that would summon food from the air,” he mutters, putting a hand over his stomach as though to shut it up. He didn’t realize how hungry he was, but it hits him that he hasn’t eaten since before he left the harbor.

Ryeowook blinks for a second, before breaking out in melodious laughter. “No, you’re quite right, I don’t,” he chortles. “But the sun is starting to go down, the hares should be coming out soon because it’s getting cooler.” Jongwoon stares with a blank look, and Ryeowook sighs. “You don’t know how to trap hares, do you?”

“Not in the desert,” Jongwoon deadpans. “And certainly not without any tools. Everything I had was saddled to the horse that ran off before I fell in the river, except my dagger, which is missing. Probably fell out in the water...” He groans as he realizes the shipment of potions that Jungsu was counting on most likely never made it. Bandits probably raided the saddle pack and took the horse for themselves, or slaughtered the poor thing, or...

“...re you listening to me?” Ryeowook’s voice breaks him out of his inner meltdown and Jongwoon looks over to see Ryeowook peering at him. He splutters an apology and Ryeowook frowns in concern. “I said if you can build a fire I’ll go trap the hares.”

“What? Oh yeah, um, sure, I guess. Is there anything to build a fire with?” Ryeowook gawks at him like _are you actually being serious_ expression and Jongwoon fidgets uncomfortably. “What?”

“You really don’t know how to start a fire without kindle?” Ryeowook asks, and Jongwoon shakes his head.

“I told you, I suck at magic. The only two things I can do with any decency is creating a smokescreen and healing myself. I’m used to doing things without magic but excuse me for never having set foot in a desert before,” Jongwoon replies in a clipped tone. He doesn’t need Ryeowook to mock him. 

Ryeowook stares a few seconds more before shaking his head with a sympathetic smile. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed. Here.” He moves a bit away from the rock that Jongwoon is sitting on and digs a small pit with his hands. Then he leans down over it, whispers _awdako_ and blows a small stream of air, making a small flame burst into life. “We’ll set up camp here, okay?” he says as he sits up. “I’ll be back soon. You might want to set your tunic by the fire and let it dry, you’ll start getting sores wearing that thing completely soaked.”

Jongwoon is still staring wide-eyed at the fire, and Ryeowook chuckles as he stands, pulling a short knife from his belt. “It’s burning off the air, so it won’t go out unless you douse it.” He chuckles at Jongwoon’s wonder before setting off. But he’s barely ten feet away when Jongwoon calls out _Ryeowook._ “Hmm?” he asks, turning back to face the other man.

Jongwoon looks up at him, staring intently at the small man. “Why are you helping me so much?” 

Ryeowook hesitates for a second, before smiling kindly and turning away again. “It’s the right thing to do, isn’t it? Besides, I made the decision to pull you from the river. I should at least make it worth the effort to make sure you survive.” He walks away before Jongwoon has a chance to reply. Jongwoon frowns, not entirely sure that Ryeowook was telling the whole truth. 

_No,_ he thinks to himself. _He’s definitely hiding something._

***

Jongwoon volunteers to take the first watch that night, telling Ryeowook that he wants to at least be good for something and not let them get mauled by coyotes. Ryeowook agrees with some reluctance, offering to let Jongwoon sleep since he was the one who fell off a cliff, after all. In the end he pulls off his outer-tunic to use as a pillow -- Jongwoon curiously noticing an intricate tattoo on his right bicep -- and curls up next to the fire, falling asleep quickly.

Jongwoon holds on to Ryeowook’s knife while he’s awake, thoroughly cleaned of the hares they skinned and roasted earlier. He keeps his ears open for any predators, but mostly lets his thoughts wander. Despite being annoyed with Jungsu for making him go to the harbor he sincerely hopes that the man is able to get another shipment of potions. Maybe he’ll even understand why he lost the shipment in the first place and Jongwoon won’t lose a valued client. That is, if he even makes it back to the city in the first place.

His eyes wander over to the other man, and he can’t help but stare. In the soft light of the fire Ryeowook looks so small and fragile, face soft and expressionless in sleep. The nagging feeling that he’s hiding something surfaces again now that Jongwoon has the opportunity to sit and think about it. His gaze roves over the mysterious tattoo on the man’s arm and he wonders what secret meaning it holds. 

Ryeowook is a mysterious man, Jongwoon decides, hiding behind a deceptive smile and clever words. He claims to live here in the Valley, but all Jongwoon’s life he’s been told that no human can survive here. Even still, where was Ryeowook’s family? Surely if he lives here, there must be others. But there’s not been even the ghost of another soul the whole time he’s been here.

Suddenly Jongwoon’s ears perk up to a sound in the distance and his attention snaps up to the dark horizon. The sound is faint, and he swivels around to see which direction it’s coming from, standing from his post on the rock and holding the knife protectively in his hand. Finally, he deciphers it as coming from somewhere off to the west, and swallows. Should he wake Ryeowook so they can move? But there’s nothing but dunes of sand and plateaus; no place to hide.

The sound gets a little louder for a split second, and it almost sounds like howling, but it’s definitely not like any coyote or fox he’s ever heard. Against his better judgment, he decides to investigate, curiosity winning him over. He can’t even bring a torch -- there’s no wood on the fire to bring as a torch -- so he heads off into the night alone. There’s a dune about five hundred meters out that he can climb to get a better vantage point of the area. 

His initial guess of the sound being in this direction is right, as with every step he takes the howling of sorts grows louder and louder. It takes him a good while to get to the dune, and then a good deal more to climb it, as the sand gives way beneath his feet, making it difficult to find purchase. When he finally reaches the top, the campfire is but a speck behind him, and the moon shines bright on the desert below. 

Jongwoon scours the area in all directions searching for whatever is making that noise. He eyes the cliffs in the distance, and the expanse of sand, expecting to see a pack of wild dogs headed his way. But a shadow flickers across the moon, casting the sky in pitch black for a moment, and his head flashes up and his eyes widen.

There in the sky, are no less than twenty dragons, all black as night. He blinks slowly once, twice, and then rubs his eyes for good measure. But he isn’t seeing things; the dragons circle the sky in pairs, almost as if dancing around each other. The howling picks up and Jongwoon almost gets the impression that it’s singing, the way it flows like a melody across the sky. 

The sight takes Jongwoon’s breath away, as he stands there on the top of the dune, completely enthralled. The sight is magical, and he can’t tear his eyes away. In the back of his mind, Donghee’s words _human sees a dragon nowadays, he's favored by the gods_ rings faintly. 

“The dragonsong,” a voice breathes in his ear and Jongwoon nearly leaps out of his skin. He spins around to see Ryeowook standing there, and he wills his heart to settle down out of his throat. 

“Lord, Ryeowook, you scared me,” Jongwoon hisses, feeling like he shouldn’t speak any louder than a whisper, lest he interrupt the dragonsong, did Ryeowook call it? “I didn’t even hear you coming.”

“That’s because I’m good at going unnoticed,” Ryeowook whispers urgently. “As you should learn well. We need to go, and quickly.” He tugs on Jongwoon’s hand, trying to pull him down the back side of the dune and out of sight, but Jongwoon’s curiosity compels him to stay there. 

“What is that?” he asks quietly, turning his head back to the wondrous sight in the sky. “You called it the dragonsong. What is it?” he repeats and Ryeowook fidgets, clearly anxious about whatever it is.

“On the night of the full moon at the sixth cycle in the year, the dragonsong is sung to bind two dragons together in a mating ceremony,” Ryeowook explains, and Jongwoon doesn’t miss the way his eyes gloss over for a brief moment. If he didn’t know any better, he’d suspect that look to be almost _longing_. “Very old, very _sacred_ ritual and if they see a human they will not be pleased,” Ryeowook continues, tugging on Jongwoon’s arm again. “This is not something you want to interrupt, Jongwoon. We have to get out of here.”

Before either of them could take a step further, the howling suddenly ceases so abruptly that it sent chills down Jongwoon’s spine. Ryeowook moans _oh no_ before throwing his shoulder into Jongwoon’s back, sending him toppling down the dune. As he tumbles to a stop, he lands hard on his back and black spots dance in his vision. He’s so dazed he almost misses a great mass heading for him at breakneck pace.

Almost.

Jongwoon doesn’t even have time to scream before there’s a wall of fire bearing down on him. He curls in on himself and clenches his eyes shut, bracing for the worst. But the worst never comes; instead, there’s a great gust of wind and instead of blistering burns there’s just an uncomfortable warmth around him. He chances peeking his eyes open, and they shoot wide when he realizes someone threw a shield spell, protecting him from the dragon’s angry flame. The shield whips his hair in his face for a few seconds more before it quenches the fire, dissolving it as though it never existed. 

He lays there, trying to catch his breath for a moment, when a screech rings loud in his ears and he shoots straight up. His eyes go to the creature that made the noise and he shouts and dives for the ground again as a dragon careens past his head. He looks up in time to see it go for the neck of another dragon and it hits him -- they’re _fighting_.

He watches in horror as the two dragons duel each other, snapping as they ram and breathing fire. One of them spots him standing there, frozen and unable to look away, and in the split second that Jongwoon meets it’s dangerous ruby eyes he knows he’s in trouble. The red-eyed dragon dives for him, the other hot on its tail, just managing to tackle catch Jongwoon’s pursuer in time. 

Jongwoon snaps out of his trance and picks up on his feet to run, looking around to follow the direction that Ryeowook must have run in. But Ryeowook is nowhere to be seen and Jongwoon realizes with a sickening start that he hasn’t seen the other man since before the quarrel began.

“Ryeowook!” he shouts. “Ryeowook, where are you!?” There’s no answer but the shriek of pain from one of the dragons. Jongwoon looks up and sees a flash of amethyst as the smaller dragon rears it’s head and Jongwoon immediately recognizes it as the dragon from before. The dragon is so preoccupied focusing keeping itself between the larger creature and Jongwoon that it doesn’t see yet another dragon come up behind it, sapphire eyes glinting menacingly in the moonlight. 

“Look out!” he yells, and the amethyst dragon doesn’t have time to react before the third dragon breathes a mighty roar, sending fire with it. The smallest dragon doesn’t stand a chance, completely overwhelmed and crashes to the ground hardly a hundred meters in front of Jongwoon. It doesn’t move. 

“Xen tuho 0ei xocf u ximud,” says a voice, and Jongwoon’s shamelessly terrified gaze goes from the unmoving dragon to the two circling dangerously between them. The dragon with the sapphire eyes narrows its eyes at Jongwoon and he gulps nervously. The dragon speaks again, and Jongwoon vaguely wonders how it speaks without moving its mouth. “A doloh ad m0 cavo keeb 0ei veh u khuakeh, Ryeowook.”

Ryeowook? Jongwoon’s eyes widen as he looks down to the dragon in front of him. Suddenly everything makes sense -- Ryeowook living here his whole life, Ryeowook knowing his way around without batting an eye, Ryeowook knowing what the dragonsong is. It also explains how Ryeowook seemed to conveniently be in the right place to save him. Had Ryeowook been following him since they met in the forest all that time ago?

He didn’t have much time to think about it as the dragon with the ruby eyes suddenly says, “Vackx0 ximud. 0eih fhojodso muboj mo jasb. Udt 0ei kee, Ryeowook. Weet hattudso ke khuakeh khujx cabo 0ei.” Jongwoon doesn’t have to speak dragon to know that this is probably his last moment alive, so he prays to whatever god is out there that wherever he ends up, he’ll see his family again. 

“I’m sorry, Ryeowook,” he mutters, sadly eyeing the dragon he now knows is Ryeowook. “This is my fault. You were only protecting me.” He closes his eyes so that he doesn’t have to see it, but he hears the ruby-eyed dragon take a breath. 

And he waits for Death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The dragon language is a cipher language called Saurian -- basically, it's just English, with the letters scrambled. You can find a translator [here](http://saurian.krystalarchive.com) if you are interested in seeing what the dragons were saying.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crossposted from my livejournal. Originally published 2013/04/13.

Jongwoon doesn’t know what to expect when he opens his eyes. He thinks that maybe death should have been more painful, that he should have felt _something_ more, but he feels nothing. Not even the wind pushing his hair. It’s as though the world has ground to a complete stop and he’s standing in the middle of the void.

It takes him a few long moments to gather the nerve to open his eyes, and when he does, it takes every ounce of self-restraint not to cry out in shock at... nothing. Nothing has changed. He’s still in the middle of the desert, with two very malicious looking dragons glaring him down, and a very broken one still laying in front of him. If it weren’t for the the fact that the two airbourne dragons’ wings were still steadily beating, Jongwoon would almost believe that time _had_ indeed ground to a stop. 

“That is _enough_ , Youngwoon, Siwon,” comes a voice from behind Jongwoon and he spins around. Somehow he hadn’t even heard a fourth dragon enter the fray and yet, here one is, his eyes a deep emerald and his presence commanding. His voice is lilting, almost melodic, but there’s a certain authority in it that makes Jongwoon certain that he holds some power over these two. 

The dragon with the sapphire eyes narrows its gaze and starts saying something out in the dragon tongue, but the emerald-eyed one interrupts him. “Speak so that the human can understand,” he urges seriously, “or did your mother teach you no manners?” 

“I will not bow to accomodate filth, Hankyung,” spits the ruby-eyed dragon, but Jongwoon notes he does not disobey. “Not like the traitor Ryeowook. You know what humans are like. If we let this one live he’ll tell the entire population and then we’ll have legend chasers or worse, hunters bearing down on us before daybreak.”

“Youngwoon is right,” the sapphire-eyed dragon pitches in, a sour look dawning on his face as he too follows Hankyung’s command to speak in human tongue. “There’s a reason why we have let no human who has ventured into our midst live to tell the tale. For centuries we have live undisturbed. Ryeowook and this _human_ have threatened that. And for that we cannot let them live.”

Hankyung bristles, clearly irritated with his fellow dragons. “Listen to yourselves. You should be ashamed, thinking to so quickly kill one of our own. And you, Youngwoon, he’s your brother! Have you no honor?” 

“I owe no honor to traitors, brother or not,” Youngwoon seethes. “And if anyone should be ashamed it should be him. Not only did he let a human live, he was trying to help him escape! _And_ he let the human see the dragonsong! Why should we let them live?”

“Because you owe it to your late father not to further shame your family,” Hankyung snaps back, and even Siwon, the other dragon, reels at the sharp tone. “There is no greater shame than killing your bretheren. While yes, it is against our laws to make contact with humans, I’ve never taken Ryeowook for a poor judge of character. I highly doubt he would aid anyone he believed would be a threat to our kind. His only fault is having too soft a heart. Would you disagree with me?” 

Youngwoon merely grinds his teeth, and Siwon looks greatly troubled. “But Hankyung, what of the human? We can deal with Ryeowook later, but surely we cannot overlook his presence here. He saw the dragonsong, of all things…" Siwon says. At this, Jongwoon hesitantly clears his throat, flinching as all three dragons turn their gaze on him, two of them incredibly menacing.

“If I may say something,” he starts quietly, surprised at how steady his voice is when his heart is pounding in his throat. There’s a short, icy silence and he takes that as his cue to go on. “I didn’t mean to come here. I fell into the river to the north and drifted downstream and if it weren’t for Ryeowook I would be dead anyway. So kill me if you need to, but please don’t punish him on account of saving me.”

Jongwoon looks at his feet the whole time he speaks, not able to bring himself to look at the creatures who hold his life in their hands (figuratively, of course). There's a long, tense silence and for a moment, Jongwoon is sure that they will not only kill him, but Ryeowook as well, and it crosses his mind that he must be cursed; after all, everyone he is around often seem to die. But then there's an incredulous laugh from the emerald-eyed dragon, and Jongwoon looks up and is startled to see even the other two have shocked looks on their faces.

"Tell me human, what is your name?" The one called Hankyung asks him. 

"Kim Jongwoon," Jongwoon replies cautiously. Youngwoon and Siwon have let the startled looks go, and instead are eyeing him warily. He represses the urge to gulp in nervousness and looks back to Hankyung. 

"Well, Kim Jongwoon, you certainly are an interesting human," Hankyung says thoughtfully. "In my many years, I don't think I've met a single human who didn’t ask for his life to be spared. You even ask for death if it will spare our Ryeowook the punishment… Interesting, indeed." 

"He could just be clever," Youngwoon grumbles. "To earn your pity so you'll let him live." A withering look from Hankyung silences him again.

"If it weren't for Ryeowook, I would have drowned in that river," Jongwoon repeats quietly. "I owe him my life, so if that's what it takes…" he trails off as Hankyung starts laughing again, and Siwon and Youngwoon do not look pleased in the slightest. 

"Human, there is much more to our kind than you will ever fathom," he explains. "And as hot-blooded as Youngwoon is, he still has pride to maintain. Ryeowook will not perish by our hands, I assure you," he adds, giving a pointed glare to Youngwoon and Siwon, who both look ready to protest. Jongwoon restrains a sigh of relief from escaping his throat.

"However," he continues, and Jongwoon's heart suddenly feels heavy again. "By sparing your life, he has committed a crime, and that cannot go unpunished. For actions that will cause animosity against him among our kind, he will be exiled from our lands. As for you, I sense no ill-intentions about you. As long as you swear to secrecy I will let you live, but know that if you ever set foot here again, I will not be so kind." 

Youngwoon is furious that Jongwoon and Ryeowook are getting off easy, but Siwon looks as though he more-or-less agrees to the sentence. Jongwoon stares disbelievingly at Hankyung for a long time, only looking away when Hankyung's eyes flicker to the still-unmoving lump that is Ryeowook. It's then that it dawns on Jongwoon that Hankyung is only letting him live because he knows Ryeowook won't make it in exile alone. 

"I swear it," Jongwoon breathes, determined to repay Ryeowook for the sacrifice he has to make in return for his life. "I will take what happened tonight with me to my grave and to no other." Youngwoon spits out something at him in dragon tongue and flies away, and Siwon sighs heavily.

"We will know if you've kept your vow, if humans start bearing down on us," he warns. "Make no mistake that we will find you, and we _will_ kill you." With that, he follows Youngwoon without another word. Hankyung merely shakes his head. 

"Pay them no mind, Kim Jongwoon," Hankyung says, almost comfortingly, and if it weren't for the threats he made earlier Jongwoon would almost think he's made an ally tonight in him. "As I said, dragons are very prideful creatures. I trust that you will keep your promise, and that is that." He makes to follow the others, but Jongwoon stops him.

"Wait! I have just one question," he calls, and Hankyung regards him curiously. "The dragonsong they kept referring to… it wasn't ruined tonight, was it? Will your kind be affected because it was interrupted?" 

Hankyung is silent for a long time before he replies vaguely, "Such an interesting human. Concerned for his potential executioners…" and flies away. Jongwoon blinks in confusion, wondering what kind of answer that was supposed to be, before he belatedly remembers Ryeowook and hurries over to his side. 

The poor thing is still completely out cold, and Jongwoon would fear him dead if it weren't for Youngwoon's insistance to finish him off. As it were, Jongwoon has no idea how to check him for injuries. He bites his lip before settling down on the ground besides Ryeowook's head, hoping that it is central enough for his spell to work. He gently places a hand on either side of Ryeowook's head and closes his eyes, concentrating as hard as he possibly can before murmuring his healing spell, over and over. 

Jongwoon's hands feel warm every time he heals, the only indication that his spell is working, but there's no way of telling if it will work on a dragon or not. He can only hope that the steadily increasing fatigue means that the spell is working; usually, he can gauge how much to heal versus how much energy it will cost him because he stops when the pain is bearable. With Ryeowook, he's determined to give as much as it takes to make the dragon wake. 

"Come on, damn you," Jongwoon mutters. "I won't let you down like I let my brother down. I refuse to let you die, so wake up already." The warmth starts to burn with the exhausting effort, and his vision blurs but he doesn't lift his hands. His heart is still pounding in his throat when finally Ryeowook stirs, amethyst eyes cloudy as they flicker open. Jongwoon almost laughs, he's so relieved, sitting back and murmuring, "Thank god."

Then blackness creeps in around his eyes as the exhaustion takes its toll, and he slumps to the ground in a dead faint.

***

It's the sound of chirping and a cool breeze tickling his nose that wakes Jongwoon. He groggily sits up, taking in the greenery around him, before he suddenly remembers that this is not the desert. He blinks in confusion, wondering if this is a dream or a hallucination, but if that were so then why is his head pounding? He cards a hand through his hair and mutters, "I have really got to stop passing out… I keep waking up in… not the last place I was in."

"Well it's good we agree on something," a voice chirps from behind him, and Jongwoon whirls around on his bum to see Ryeowook in his human form, putting some wood on a fire. "You do need to stop passing out, it can't be good for your health. You were out for a whole day this time."

"Ryeowook!" Jongwoon exclaims, leaping to his feet faster than his body agrees and sways dangerously on his feet. "Are you okay to be up? More than that, where are we and how did we even get here?" 

Ryeowook tilts his head, surprised by Jongwoon's sudden blatant show of concern when the other man usually hid such feeling behind a grumpy façade. Then a soft smile twitches at his lips and he turns back to the fire. "I flew us here," he admits. "Guess the secret is out, huh? But to answer your other question, I'm fine. You did a fantastic job with your healing spell, Mr. I'm-no-good-at-magic." Jongwoon flushes a bright shade of red and sighs, plopping down before the fire next to Ryeowook.

"You still shouldn't be overexerting yourself," Jongwoon scolds sternly, trying to regain some of his composure. "Not to mention, exposing yourself. Someone could have seen you." He reaches over and takes the prod out of Ryeowook's hand and pokes at the fire, determined not to look at Ryeowook.

There's silence for a little bit between them, not entirely uncomfortable but not completely relaxed either. Finally, Ryeowook sighs and puts a hand on Jongwoon's shoulder, tentatively. "I'm sorry."

Jongwoon does a double take, but Ryeowook isn't kidding. "Sorry? Sorry for what?" he asks incredulously. Ryeowook bites his lower lip and looks back at the fire.

"Sorry for dragging you into all of this," Ryeowook murmurs. "And sorry for keeping… what I am a secret from you. You almost got killed because of me." 

Jongwoon is utterly taken aback by Ryeowook's apology. "Ryeowook, if it weren't for you I would be a corpse in that river," he says fiercely. "You've saved my worthless hide twice now." Ryeowook's eyes widen as Jongwoon continues. "I didn't forget the time you saved me from those bandits, I just didn't know it was you until now. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been exiled from your people." Jongwoon doesn't miss the way Ryeowook winces, taking a deep breath. 

"That's… not entirely true," Ryeowook sighs, putting his head in his hands. "My exile was a long time coming, anyway. I was already pretty much an outcast amongst the dragonborn anyway. That's what we call ourselves, by the way," he adds quickly, seeing Jongwoon's confusion. "Why do you think my brother was so eager to kill me? There's no love lost between us."

"I don't see how that would get you exiled," Jongwoon says slowly. Ryeowook smiles wryly. 

"It's a bit difficult to call a place your home and the people your family, when no one wants anything to do with you," he confesses. "I've always been seen as the runt, useless and weak. Dragonborn are a proud race, and they don't have any tolerance for anything less than greatness. Hankyung did me a favor by exiling me, honestly. I may not be as proud as the others but I've still got my dignity. Staying with my kind would have just meant a lifetime of humiliation."

Jongwoon is quiet for a long time after Ryeowook finishes talking. The whole thing, Ryeowook being a dragon and their encounter with the others back in the desert, feels like it's all some sort of fantastic dream. But when he stops to think about it, he and Ryeowook aren't all that different; just two lonely creatures whose lives chewed them up and spit them back out. 

"Why were you in the forest that day?" Jongwoon says finally, curiosity gnawing at him. He knows he doesn't have to specify which day – he knows Ryeowook remembers it as clearly as he does. "Why did you save me the first time?"

Ryeowook doesn't meet his eye. "I wasn't following you, if that's what you're thinking," he laughs humorlessly, before sighing again. "My father died that day, the only person who ever treated me with respect, and I just… lost it, I guess. So I ran. Ran into you, coincidentally. When I saw those bandits ganging up on you, my anger just boiled over and they were the perfect ones to take it out on. Of course, it's not in my nature to actually hurt anything, so scaring them off was the best that I could manage…" 

"Doesn't matter," Jongwoon says firmly. "It saved me and that's all that counts. You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. Don't let what the others said about you being weak bother you from here on out, okay? Because it's not true." 

Ryeowook's throat clenches and he feels the touched tears sting the back of his eyes, and he swallows once before letting out a breathy chuckle. "You're being awfully nice to me, you know. Just a few days ago you were jumping down my throat at everything."

Jongwoon recognizes the wall that Ryeowook's putting up, because it's identical to the wall he's used for so long. Hiding behind sarcasm and snide remarks is a lot easier than showing genuine emotion. "It's okay, you know. If you need to cry," he says softly. He knows that Ryeowook is hurting a lot more than he's letting on, so when Ryeowook's shoulders start to tremble, he tentatively opens his arms and lets Ryeowook cry on his shoulder in a way that he hasn't let anyone do since before Jongjin died.

"Thank you," Ryeowook whimpers between quiet sobs. Somewhere in the back of his head he scolds himself for giving advice that he doesn't follow himself, but determines that he can do something about it later. So he strokes Ryeowook's back in a way he hopes is comforting, until the smaller man falls asleep against his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ryeowook," Jongwoon murmurs, laying Ryeowook down by the fire and pulling his outer tunic over his head so he can drape it over Ryeowook like a blanket. "Once we find our way back to the city, I'll make you realize just how strong you are. I told you I wouldn't let you down."  



	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Settling in, and unsettling revelations.

If there were ever a moment that Jongwoon could call the little house on the edge of town a home, it is now. He has never been more glad to see the unassuming little hut and it's as though a physical weight has been lifted off his shoulders as he pushes the gate open. The garden is overgrown with weeds and webs, but somehow most of the vegetables have managed to survive his absence.

He's almost to the front door when he realizes the presence that has been at his side for the last two weeks isn't following him to the door. Jongwoon peers over his shoulder to see Ryeowook standing at the gate, biting his lip in hesitation. "Well, what are you waiting for? Aren't you going to come in?" Jongwoon asks, raising an eyebrow in almost irritation. 

Ryeowook shrugs, not quite meeting his eye in his attempt to be nonchalant. Even for the short amount of time Jongwoon has know him, the uncharacteristic behavior unnerves him a little. When Jongwoon says nothing, he sighs. "I just… are you sure you want to let me in? You wouldn't have gotten into that whole mess if it weren't for me. I just attract bad luck to everyone."

"Are you still on about that?" Jongwoon asks incredulously. "I wouldn't be _alive_ if it weren't for you. Do I have have to repeat myself so many times?" Ryeowook blinks in surprise; clearly this isn't the answer he is expecting. "I'm not going to just leave you out to dry like that. I may be cold, but I'm not cruel. Now get in here," he repeats, pushing the door open, and Ryeowook scurries to obey.

The house is just the way he left it before setting off to the harbor, not as though her were expecting it to be any different. In fact, the only person who knows he lives here is Donghee, as the tavern owner had pulled strings for the previous owner to sell it at a cheap price. It's probably for the best – Jongwoon has mde his share of enemies, so the fewer people who know where to ambush him as he sleeps, the better. 

Still, it's not much – a hearth, some cushions around a low table, and a down feather cot in the loft, so that he doesn't feel the cold nights' draft. But apparently to Ryeowook, it's comparable to a castle. He copies Jongwoon and kicks off his shoes before wandering into the house proper, staring in wonder at the cast iron pots that line the stone walls. "You actually live here? I always thought humans lived in those cloth things you put up when you're traveling."

Jongwoon notices him eying the cushions as though they'll bite him when he sits and laughs despite himself. "It's called a cushion. So that you don't have to sit on the cold floor. And that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of, fewer people live in tents than in regular houses." He half wonders if Ryeowook is seriously this naïve to human culture or if he's just spinning a tale on him.

Ryeowook pouts, affronted. "I like sitting on the cold floor, thank you very much. When you live in the desert and nine times out of ten all you have to sit on is hot sand, it's quite refreshing, even to dragons, you know." He sits down almost experimentally, wriggles around for a few moments before deciding it is pretty comfortable.

"Not so bad, is it?" Jongwoon snorts, watching the whole affair with poorly disguised amusement. Ryeowook just blows him a raspberry and Jongwoon rolls his eyes. He would never admit it, but seeing Ryeowook back to his normal self is a relief. "Get comfortable then, I'm going to rest for a few minutes before heading over to the quarry and see if I can't catch Jungsu."

Ryeowook straightens on his seat. "Today? Aren't you exhausted? You had several near-death experiences in the last week and a half, I'd say you’ve at least earned yourself a night to rest."

Jongwoon shakes his head. "I can't. I was already gone for over a week before I fell into the river, and that unexpected detour puts me at almost a month gone. I need to make sure he was at least able to secure an alternate shipment of potions for his men." He appreciates Ryeowook's concern, then mentally scolds himself for going soft. He does have a reputation to maintain, after all. He's let Ryeowook see a side of him that he hasn't shown anyone since before Jongjin died, but he has to reign his emotions in or else he'll lose his credibility among the other traders.

Ryeowook frowns, but doesn't say anything else on the matter. "How far is it to the quarry? I can go with you if you want."

"No offense, Ryeowook, but if I suddenly show up with a man they've never seen before, there'll be questions I don't particularly feel like answering tonight," Jongwoon deadpans. "It's only about an hour's walk, we're already on the edge of town so that saves the trek through the market crowd. I'll be back before sundown." He runs his palms across the wooden floorboards, finds what he's looking for and slips a finger into a hidden notch that lifts the plank of wood. He pulls out a satchel from among many, clearly full of gold.

"By the way," he adds, almost as an afterthought, "this doesn't exist."

***

"As I live and breathe," Jungsu whispers, rubbing his eyes as though to make sure he isn't dreaming. "Jongwoon! My God, you certainly know how to scare a man to death, don't you? I thought you dead for sure!" He drops the wheelbarrow that he'd been hauling and hurries over to give Jongwoon a hard punch in the shoulder for good measure. Jongwoon yelps and rubs his arm with an affronted look.

"Was that _really_ necessary? It's not like I meant to fall off the face of the Earth," he retorts, almost in a whine.

"What happened to you then?" Jungsu asks, eyebrow raised curiously.

"I just told you, I fell off the face of the Earth," Jongwoon replies shortly. Jungsu's eyebrow only goes higher and Jongwoon shakes his head. "I don't want to talk about it. Forget about me though, I came to see if you ever got your shipment of potions. The horse I was riding ran off and I don't think any of the stock I had would have survived the journey."

"Indeed not," Jungsu says seriously. "It's why I thought you dead, we found that horse going absolutely insane when Donghee and I sent out a search party for you. There was a gleam in her eye I'd never seen before, and we couldn't get her to calm down. When she started bashing her head against a tree we had to put her down." Jongwoon's eyes go completely wide and his mouth drops open in shock. "Still don't want to talk about it?" Jungsu presses.

Jongwoon purses his lips into a thin line. "Look, that horse was perfectly find when the alchemist back at the harbor gave her to me. We rode a day, day and a half before I tried to lead her to water. Something spooked her, she reared, and I fell off and rolled into the water to avoid getting trampled. Tired, and dehydrated maybe, but that horse wasn't rabid." Jungsu is quiet for a long moment, before he sighs. 

"You're not skilled enough…" he murmurs. Jongwoon opens his mouth in protest but Jungsu holds a hand up to silence him. "No, I mean, not skilled enough in magic. If what you say is true, then that was the work of dark magic. I'd say someone tried to curse you and ended up cursing the horse instead. Made any enemies recently?"

"Not recently, that I can think of," Jongwoon gulps. He wisely leaves out the enemies he made of Ryeowook's clan; Jungsu doesn't need to know about that. Besides, the horse incident happened before he ended up in dragon territory, anyway.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to be a little cautious from now on, yeah?" Jungsu sighs again. "To answer your earlier question, yes we did end up getting the potions. The alchemist, Changmin was his name? He sent his apprentice with a new batch when he heard what'd happened. Sorry to tell you I can't give you a cut of the minings, we can't afford any extra losses." He does look genuinely apologetic, but Jongwoon just waves it off. The gold he lost with the horse pales in comparison to the severity of what he's just learned.

"Don't worry about it, I'm well enough off that I won't starve. I am glad you got your potions, Jungsu. I was worried." He gives a half smile and Jungsu looks shocked before he returns it with a chuckle.

"Having a brush with death has turned you into a changed man, Jongwoon," he laughs, though when he raises his hand again as though to hit him Jongwoon flinches. But Jungsu only gives him a friendly pat on the back. "I think that's the first time you've ever smiled at me!"

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it," Jongwoon mutters in reply, having half a mind to add _if this is how you react remind me not to smile at you_. But he lets Jungsu have his moment, deciding today is probably not a good day to start negotiating another deal. Jungsu, as though reading his mind, agrees.

"Go on home and get yourself some rest. Oh, maybe stop in and pay Donghee a quick visit, he was rather upset after that horse incident." This surprises Jongwoon; having shied away from close relationships with people, he didn't really think anyone would be upset if he died. It's rather touching, and he supposes Donghee's the closest thing to a friend he's got. Well, now Ryeowook too, however strangely they became acquainted. He bids Jungsu goodbye, heading back into town with at least one of his worries assuaged.

A quick visit, however, turns into several rounds of ale, as Donghee is so surprised and thrilled by Jongwoon's return that it draws the attention of the regular patrons, who all insist on treating him to a round each. Needless to say that it's long dark before he finally starts stumbling his way home. How he manages to make to his front door without tripping over something (namely his own feet) is beyond him. 

It's the sight of Ryeowook curled up on the cushion where Jongwoon had left him that sobers him much too quickly for his liking. A rush of guilt courses through him as he realizes he completely forgot about him, though Ryeowook is sleeping so soundly that Jongwoon suspects he probably passed out no sooner than he was out the door.

"You haven't eaten anything yet, have you," Jongwoon murmurs with a shake of his head. He climbs up to the loft with a small degree of difficulty, grabs the only blanket he has from off his mattress and drags it back down to the foor where Ryeowook lays. He pulls the other cushion so that it's on Ryeowook's other side, getting comfortable himself before thowing the covers over both of them. He then promptly passes out.

***

Jongwoon is awakened what seems much too early by a shriek and a shove. He wrinkles his nose with a grunt and sits up, eyes refusing to open and his head threatening to split from the base. "What's the matter?" he groans, realizing from the pale light peeking through the shutters that it's barely past daybreak.

"Why were you sleeping so close to me? And why were we sharing a blanket?" Ryeowook shrills. Jongwoon doesn't quite see what the big deal is.

"I've only got one," he says simply, half-heartedly rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "You looked uncomfortable when I came in last night, and I sure as hell wasn't going to go without one after forgoing it for so long. We had to share."

"Did you really have to be so _close_ though?" Ryeowook whines, averting his embarrassed gaze when Jongwoon shoots him a glare.

"Was I cuddling you?" Jongwoon asks, face dead serious.

"Well, no, but—"

"Then quit your screeching. This blanket is only so big, we kind of have to be close to share it. Now I'm going to go back to sleep and get rid of this headache. If you're that afraid of me, you can at least have the mattress upstairs." With that he rolls over and is snoring within a couple of minutes, leaving a very flustered Ryeowook alone with his thoughts.

"I'm not afraid of you," Ryeowook mutters eventually, but Jongwoon is dead to the world. "You just surprised me, that's all." He sticks his tongue out petulantly at the man's sleeping form, but his gaze softens when Jongwoon's words finally sink in. _You looked uncomfortable_ … "You're just a big softie on the inside, aren't you," Ryeowook snorts. He extracts himself from the blankets so he can lay them over Jongwoon properly, before moving to the mattress as the other had suggested.


End file.
